


the beautiful man on the train

by mygayandbicons



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Crush at First Sight, First Meetings, Fluff, Humorous Ending, M/M, Matchmaking, Pick-Up Lines, Subways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-04 07:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17894075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mygayandbicons/pseuds/mygayandbicons
Summary: The first time Alec Lightwood sees the love of his life is on a Tuesday. He’s halfway in love already.





	the beautiful man on the train

**Author's Note:**

> for her who showed me how to love

The first time he sees him is on a Tuesday.

Alec knows it's a Tuesday, not because he's always going to remember the first time he met the man he wanted to climb like a tree (he's not _that_ crazy), but because it's the first Tuesday since he finished college and decided to sleep in instead of getting up at the crack of dawn and going for his daily morning jog. If you ask him, he won't admit it, but it's because of his adoptive brother, Jace, who dragged him (on a _Monday_ out of all the other evenings in the week) to his girlfriend's art show that Alec slept in and opted for stopping for a coffee and a muffin on his commute instead of drinking a home-brewed one. It's times like these that he's immensely grateful for his sister, whose first out of many to come, housewarming present was a coffee machine.

So, he wakes up a bit later than usual, skips his morning run and stumbles onto what has to be the biggest morning rush he had seen in New York. Alec manages to find a seat and lets his body relax against the uncomfortable plastic before what will surely be a tiring day to come and suddenly finds himself ogling the man of Asian descent sitting across him two seats to the left. And if his day instantly brightens up at such a beautiful sight so early in the morning, well, no one needed to know.

It makes sense that he's never seen this man before. New York is a busy place and Alec has always been taking early morning subways to avoid the clutter of commuters – a habit he's now currently thinking of changing for the sake of catching up on some needed sleep. The man is a bit older than Alec, probably in the middle of his thirties. His smooth, flawless skin, with an exception of a small birthmark resting above his right eyebrow makes him look not a day over twenty-five. He’s sporting a short goatee which enhances his chiselled jaw and has successfully combined a cobalt shirt with blue-coloured tips of his dark hair that’s styled into a neat Mohawk with, what Alec imagines, is a fair amount of gel. It’s to no one’s surprise that Alec just can’t find it in him to take his eyes of the man. There are silver specks of swirling patterns decorating his shirt that match the antique silver rings adorning his hands. He looks _out of this world_ , Alec thinks, and no matter how much he tries to look _anywhere else_ but at the beautiful man on the train, his gaze always returns to him as if there's an invisible pull he can't fight against. Alec wouldn’t want to even if he tries.

He has headphones in his ears, one of which is, Alec's eyes unhelpfully provide, decorated with a snake ear cuff that he only notices when the man diverts his attention from the phone to the notification board hanging from the ceiling of the coach. The machine announces the next stop in the center of New York and the muscles in the man's neck strain, enhancing his adam's apple beautifully. Alec would believe it if someone told him he drooled a little, but who can really blame him, when it's so early in the morning, he has had an insufficient amount of sleep, and the man looks like _that._

When the man looks back at his phone, his gaze lingers on Alec for a second, before turning back to his smart phone, but Alec just assumes it's a trick of light or a figment of his imagination. You can never be too sure though, and the last thing Alec wants is to be labelled as a disturbing stranger on a train. So he forces himself to stop ogling the beautiful man and rather turns his attention to the book he brought with him to pass time. It was a Christmas gift from Izzy and Alec makes a mental note to add _‘new books’_ on his birthday list for his sister. It’s not until ten minutes later that Alec realizes he's been reading the same sentence over and over again, unable to take his mind off the beautiful stranger.

The second time Alec sees him is a Wednesday.

He wakes up at the same time he usually does. His natural body clock seems to fail him even on days he wishes to sleep in, but it doesn’t matter when he’s woken up to the thought of the beautiful man he’ll be seeing in a short while. He spends an extra two minutes in front of the closet even though he knows it's fruitless at the end. When he eventually settles for a light grey button up shirt he makes a mental note to ask Izzy to go shopping with him and blushes when he realizes how much effort he's putting in for a man whose name he doesn't even know. Alec also makes a mental note of never telling anyone about how he struggles with taming his hair in front of the mirror.

It's half past seven when Alec's subway arrives, and he takes a deep breath in. Not because he'd be nervous, of course not. He simply can't stand so many people so early in the morning. Come to think of it, he really doesn't stand people in general. When he eventually manages to get on the subway it's packed with commuters. Luckily he still finds an empty space where he can lean against the pole and close his eyes to catch a breath. He starts to question whether one man is really worth all this trouble but it's a smooth, velvety voice that tells him, yes, he really is worth all the trouble. Said voice reaches down into his very core, shaking him up in a way he doesn't think is possible.

“You will do no such thing, Elias. You will not settle for anything less than the original price, do you understand? Our client deserves the best, and nothing but the best. That is why she chose us,” a silky, but authoritative voice dictates firmly.

Alec can’t find it in him to open his eyes, but he does hear a huff of exasperation, and his lips quirk up in a smile when he realizes that he never stood a chance. He’s a little bit in love already.

“Be a shark. That’s what Edomai Inc. and I have been preparing you for since I offered you an internship three years ago. It wasn’t just because of your impeccable taste in accessories, surely you must know that, darling. I saw potential. Do not give me a reason to start doubting you. I will be in the office shortly. Crush the bastards.”

It doesn’t really matter that Alec’s just heard him giving advice to someone he called darling, and that he feels the only person he should be calling darling is Alec himself because now Alec knows. He knows what the beautiful man on the train sounds like, and he knows he would gladly drop everything and listen to the man talk until the day he dies. Alec also knows how deeply he’s fallen, and he understands when his sister called him a _chaotic gay_ all these years ago when he fell down the stairs after his then-boyfriend Raj kissed his cheek goodnight.

By the time Alec opens his eyes the man had already put the phone in his pocket and resumed reading the book in his lap. It’s a little while later that Alec realizes the book the man is holding is actually one of his own. Well, not one of _Alec’s_ per se, more like one of many his editing company has taken under its wing. It’s also one of the few Alec has worked on and didn’t like. He doesn’t know where he finds the courage to say what he says next.

“You know, that book really isn’t worth your time.” He quickly shuts his mouth when his brain catches up with his tongue and the man looks up with a confused expression, eyes sweeping over people nearby before he eventually settles on Alec who somehow manages to return his gaze. The man has a pair of the most beautiful golden eyes Alec has ever seen and he’s observing him with a confused, but amused expression. He lifts an eyebrow in curiosity, prompting Alec to continue.

“It has poor LGBT representation and advocates slut-shaming of people who choose to have multiple sexual partners,” Alec answers and stubbornly doesn’t take his eyes of the man who is still making eye-contact, his red-painted fingernails tapping on the surface of said book.

“Oh, is that so?” the man asks with a charming smile. He appears to be genuinely interested in Alec’s opinion. Alec can’t fathom why he would be, but he hums in agreement and shrugs. He eventually diverts his gaze away when he feels his face reddening in embarrassment. He guesses Izzy was right when she said he can’t talk to pretty men. He doesn’t say anything else, and neither does the man. They don’t look at each other anymore which saddens Alec more than he cares to admit, but it’s not until the man stands up to get off the train, that their eyes meet again. The man winks at Alec, gesturing at the seat he’s been sitting on and Alec realizes he left his book behind.

The third time he sees him is a Friday, the week after that. Alec knows he promised himself to change his morning habits, but last Wednesday the universe conspired against his potential love life and sent him an epitome of a human headache named Simon Lewis. Said headache is a particularly talkative author his company has taken under its wings and of whom Alec was put in charge. So, it really comes to no one’s surprise it’s only five minutes into the meeting with Simon and his surprisingly quiet manager, Raphael Santiago, that he realizes he’s going to explode by the end of next day. It’s with a heavy heart that he wakes up on a Thursday and goes to run in Central Park, and manages to deal with Simon with a calm mind for the next week of back-to-back meetings.

He allows indulging himself in a little break after a week of editing and finally takes the later morning train. After Izzy reprimanded him for not talking to the beautiful man earlier it proves when he tries explaining that their relationship (although non-existent) is just fine the way it is, and the whole conversation ends with Alec promising Izzy he will invite her to their wedding. He wonders if there will be a wedding to be invited _to_ in the first place as he boards the morning train and somehow finds an empty seat. He sees the beautiful man across him and their eyes meet. The man offers him a soft smile and Alec really doesn’t have it in him to try and hide his affection so early in the morning so, _of course_ he smiles back.

He remembers Izzy advising him to try and catch his attention (‘ _just talk to him, for God’s sake_ ’, she said) while Jace unhelpfully told him to slip a piece of paper with his number on it into the man’s lap, but Alec really isn’t that desperate. _Maybe one day_ , he thinks as he makes himself comfortable in his seat, opting for simply enjoying his morning commute by revelling in the fantasy of the beautiful man on the train.

That one day comes quicker than he thinks when it’s a little less than half an hour and the train stops to opens the doors for new commuters coming in. One of them is an older lady who, Alec estimates, is in her 70s with wobbly knees and a cane older than Alec himself. There are no empty seats available, so just before he makes to stand to give his seat to the elderly, he hears a voice. Alec doesn’t even try to roll his eyes because _of course_ the man on the train is not only beautiful, but kind and polite as well.

“There you go, Miss,” he says. Alec can’t fight against the smile forming on his face, doesn’t really try to as he raises his head and falls in love with the man in front of him. He’s read a lot of poetry; even wrote some of it himself, but he’s certain there are no words in the world that would be able to describe the dazzling, elegant smile plastered on the man’s face. His eyes are capable of lighting up the entire New York City as he stands up and offers his hand to the lady, guiding her to his seat before anyone else even had a chance to think they can stand and offer theirs. The lady blushes, and Alec imagines how she must feel, but before she sits down the subway swerves dangerously to the left. The lady bumps into the beautiful man who stumbles on his feet and the next thing Alec knows is that the man is in his lap, hands clutching his shoulders for balance. Alec’s hands automatically wrap around the man’s hips for protection as if there’s nowhere else in the world his hands would rather be, and Alec can’t _breathe._

He can’t breathe because the man is sitting in his lap, close enough that he can feel the man’s breath on his face and see golden specks in his brown eyes with little remains of black eyeliner under his eyes. _That_ of all things feels like a punch to the stomach. He thinks the subway crashed and this is heaven, because the universe cannot possibly love him so much to send an angel right into his lap so early in the morning. The man is staring at him with wide eyes and Alec is so captivated he doesn’t even notice him speaking and when he does he wishes he never did, because looking at his lips really isn’t helping him at all.

“Well, darling. I think I just fell for you,” the man says. Alec really can’t stop himself and he will forever deny the thing he says next, because he so desperately wishes that the first words he’s uttered to the beautiful man on the train are _anything else_ than this, but deep down he knows the truth.

“At least let me buy you dinner,” he suggests and then dies inside, because he _cannot_ believe he just said that, and he knows Izzy is never going to let him live this down. “Uhh, I mean… I don’t, uh, I didn’t mean it li-”

“Okay. When and where?” He is abruptly cut off by the lopsided smile of the man who is _still_ sitting in his lap and his eyes go wide, because there’s no way he heard him right.

The man merely watches him, eyes crinkling with amusement and a lifted eyebrow, flashing him a smirk that would have Alec melting on the floor, if he weren’t sitting already.

“I’d love that. That is, if you want to?” he carefully adds, observing him with a patient and careful smile that widens when Alec realizes the man has _literally_ just asked him out on a date (well, technically Alec was the first to ask, his brain provides), and he answers yes, because for this man, the answer will always be yes.

“It’s a date then. Since I’ve already made myself quite comfortable in your lap, the least you could do is introduce yourself. Don’t you think so, pretty boy?” he winks and Alec doesn’t think he can be more in love with the man than he already is.

“Yeah, uhh, I’m Alec. Nice to meet you,” he answers and is actually quite proud of himself for not stumbling through the sentence. He makes a mental note of bragging about it to his sister when the man smiles and Alec immediately decides that it’s his favourite thing in the world to look at.

“Likewise. I’m Magnus and I believe I am currently overstaying my welcome in your lap, so if you would be so kind as to release me? I’m sure you will get another opportunity to put your hands on me. Perhaps somewhere more private?” he teases with a low voice that really does things to Alec and he chokes on a cough that escapes his lips when the man, _Magnus,_ his brain corrects, waves in the general direction of Alec’s hands still clutching his hips for dear life. Mumbling a quiet ‘sorry’, he releases his grip and immediately misses the warmth under his fingertips as Magnus pulls himself back on his feet and grips a pole nearby to avoid another awkward encounter with Alec’s lap. Not that Alec would mind.

“Nothing to apologize for, darling. I quite enjoyed it,” Magnus smirks and Alec tries, he _really tries,_ not to blush, but how can he fight it when Magnus is looking at him like _that?_ He fails trying not to give in to the grin that splits his face in half, but he thinks failing can’t be that bad if Magnus chuckles under his breath. His eyes shine, crinkling at the corners. Alec decides he will gladly embarrass himself on a daily basis if it means Magnus will continue smiling like that.

“So, I’m taking you out on a date?” Alec asks just to make sure this isn’t a dream and when Magnus cocks his head in response, Alec hums and takes out his phone. “Well, then, can I get your number?”

He misses the way Magnus winks and mouths a quiet thank you to the lady who pushed him into his lap.

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve had this idea of a subway malec oneshot in my head for quite some time, but i really didn't get around to writing it until now. it's my first time posting something i've written so be honest with me :) 
> 
> thank y’all!


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